My mentor was quite litigious. He was quick to launch a lawyer through your bathroom window if he so much as thought you were even thinking of stepping out of line with his *isht. I found it annoying and slightly bonkers that someone with little if any trust in the government or judicial system had so many lawyers in his back pocket. But they were there and always ready to pounce in defense of his art.
I initially thought, why waste so much money paying people to ward off access to any chance of attracting a new fan base? How could we convince all of these young listeners of how great he was when their target was YouTube, and that avenue was off limits? Every time we approached that type of platform, we were shot down, and all of our ammo was confiscated. But I started to think, maybe for him, it wasn’t so much about getting the money, as it was about not being taken advantage of. He wanted it to be known; This art does not belong to you to do as you see fit. And you will not profit off of me sharing my story without discussing it with me first. I believe that is how he strongly felt. That’s just a matter of respect. Anyone would want that. I get that, but it has made it difficult to share the reason for our love and devotion with newbies. So over the years, long-time Prince fans have become very protective of the charms he has cast, and the blessings he bestowed upon us. This is why I jumped ready, finger on the trigger, when I received the link to this petition.
I’m signing this petition because it would be seen as disrespectful and even blasphemous for anyone to add an extra brush stroke to a Monet, Picasso, Degas or Dali, and I feel that it would be equally desecrating to defile Prince’s art with the creative whims of another.
No matter who they are, or how good a musician or engineer they are, they are not, and never will be Prince. In his art, he was the creator, and for me, if his creation is altered in any way by another, it is rendered contaminated and no longer pure–thus its value diminished. Please know that this is not acceptable. I want his words and music, not someone else’s interpretation of them, touted as his. I would rather stick with what I already have, because I at least know he approved of its existence.
We can like and respect other artists who have worked with Prince. We may even love and appreciate them as individual artists, but please know that even that is an individual choice, with no promise of automatic universal acceptance. In plain English, we were not here 4 U. And just because he liked you, by no means are we obligated to. I loved everything Prince was, even the things I didn’t like. Everything was defining, not just the music. I valued his spirituality, thoughts, ideas, ideals, dreams and aspirations. And he shared them all through his music. Therefore, the slightest change could stray from his original message.
I beg that you please uphold the integrity of his art, and not allow one word to be altered or a single note to be tarnished.
-Live 4 Love 💜
LargeRoomNoLight 
What’s worse is the aroma of exploitation other artists might be compelled to attach to a dead artist’s original successes. In the words of The Beatles…Let It Be!
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That’s so true KC. I’ve been getting private message tweet about eBay auctions, email and Facebook posts with T-Shirts and even Amazon is telling me about all these books that are available. 😡 It turns my stomach. That man is such an important figure in my life. I can’t stand seeing all these people latching on to his memory and capitalizing off of it.
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Try to bear through it… I’m pretty sure it will all shake out, and in the end where Prince’s original work is concerned, where his legacy meets the road… we’ll all be saying Nothing Compares 2 U. His touch on music has a night-and-day quality difference. Everything else will be 2% milk.
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“I’m signing this petition because it would be seen as disrespectful and even blasphemous for anyone to add an extra brush stroke to a Monet, Picasso, Degas or Dali, and I feel that it would be equally desecrating to defile Prince’s art with the creative whims of another.”
I love this statement because art is personal. When someone else alters your work, without your permission, it is no longer authentic. You can’t be inside the mind of another, unless your’e telepathic, and if so I’d like you to teach me some tricks, but most likely you’re not. Therefore you don’t know the persons true intentions or message behind the art, so you won’t be able to accurately express that. SO LEAVE HIS WORK ALONE!! It doesn’t need to be touched. Even in it’s unfinished state we will value and appreciate it as is.
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Exactly! None of the people who are considering reworking his music are telepathic. If they were, they would know that this is something he definitely would not want.
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Exactly. They are looking at all the songs he had in his vault, figuring they can rework them all, and be able to release new music for years to come. If he felt they were ready to release, he would have released them himself. He was no stranger to releasing more than one album in a year, or just uploading tracks when he was ready to share something new. If they decide to share his unreleased music, they should only share them as is. And not change one single thing. The integrity of his creative energy needs to remain intact.
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Quite right. No one has the right to paint/write/whatever any work and claim that is what another would have done or wanted.
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